[Avodah] Defining an Os

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Micha Berger brought several examples, and I'd like to add a few more, which I hope will help clarify some of these questions.

Normally, a kuf has two parts, but I have seen some calligraphy and fonts where the two parts do touch. If one writes something in that style, does it count as writing on Shabbos, or is it a sufficiently significant change as to not be a melacha?

If it is *not* considered writing, and the reason is that the letter is not of the standard form, then how do we define the standard? Only one which is valid for sta"m (sifrei Torah, tefillin and mezuzos)? Would Frank-Ruehl (the standard font in the Vilna Shas and many older siddurim) be considered standard or too different? What about the printed "Rashi" script, or our handwritten styles? Where do we draw the line?

Conversely: If a kuf *is* considered writing even when the two parts touch, and the reason is that it is sufficiently common to count as "writing", then I would imagine that other "sufficiently common" styles would also count. Further: IF a one-piece kuf is writing because it is sufficiently  common, then I would venture that other common fonts constitute writing, even if their nature is to break a one-part letter into two parts, or even *many* parts. And the specific font I'm speaking of is Dot Matrix.

Maybe I shouldn't put "Dot Matrix" in upper case like that, but it seems to me that the style is very common. Both in English and in Hebrew, and I would imagine it is common in any language that has electric signs.

I'm not taking sides on the issue - that's for the poskim. I'm just wondering why a one-part kuf would be more chamur than an easily-recognized kuf that was made of several dots.

Akiva Miller

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